Ford offers discounts on its cars to customers who cancel their EcoSport bookings

Ford had hit the bullseye when it launched EcoSport back in June this year. It has the right engine options, is priced and sized properly and hence, is quite popular. But with the waiting list constantly escalating, it seems that Ford is not able to keep the supply in tune with the demand for the crossover. Ford is now offering discounts on the rest of its range to lure customers into cancelling their EcoSport booking and opt for some other car.

In a letter addressed to the customers, Ford says that they have offered a discount of Rs 10,000 in case they wished to cancel their EcoSport booking and switch to some other car from its line-up. Ford’s line-up in India includes saloons-Fiesta and Fiesta Classic, a hatchback- the Figo and an SUV-the Endeavour. Ford is also offering to cancel the bookings of the EcoSport sans the ‘cancellation charges’, in case the customer wants to opt for it.

Customers who had booked their EcoSport in June this year had been given the delivery time-frame of March 2014, but it now seems that it might get pushed to July-August 2014. Vinay Piparsania, Executive Director-Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford India told the Business Line, “The Ford India team is working closely with suppliers to enhance the output of EcoSport to meet the high demand. Our Chennai facility is working at more than optimal levels to ensure that we reduce the waiting time as much as possible.” 

Come January 2014, and Ford has plans to increase the prices, throughout the range. The hike will also affect the EcoSport, this being the second one since its launch. The previous hike in September resulted in an increase ranging from Rs 25,000 to 40,000. 

Ford sells the EcoSport in India with three engine and two transmission options. The prices range from Rs 5.82 lakh to Rs 9.37 lakh. Placed in the compact SUV segment, the EcoSport goes up against the likes of Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano and the Chevy Enjoy.